The holidays are upon us, which means that most of us take a couple months, loosen our belts and celebrate. K-12 districts, however, don’t have that luxury right now, and continue to tighten their belts, which makes providing their students with best-in-class technology difficult. Consider this an early gift: a new report by CDW-G finds that districts might find a little extra budget room by taking advantage of energy efficient IT technology.

Released this month, the CDW-G Energy Efficient IT Report finds that 63 percent of K-12 districts have reduced IT energy costs by 1 percent or more as a result of implementing more efficient IT – money that IT departments can use to improve educational technology.

At Rio Rancho Public Schools in Rio Rancho, N.M., Paul Romero, executive director of technology, expects that his department’s energy efficient programs will save the district an estimated $30,000 per year. One year ago, the district had 33 servers. Today, through server virtualization, the district downsized to just eight, which means Rio Rancho has reduced its cooling demands and energy usage.

The district is recognizing ROI in IT savings, and is considering desktop virtualization for its computer labs to ensure optimal efficiency and additional energy savings. “In the long-run those savings and efficiency gains will help the district implement classroom technologies that we would otherwise not be able to provide,” Romero explains. “It crucial for us to have a strong and reliable IT backbone so that the classroom technologies can be successful.”